Green Bay officials urge safety for boats and fireworks for Fourth of July festivities
GREEN BAY (WLUK) -- Ahead of the upcoming Fourth of July celebrations, the Green Bay Police Department and Green Bay Metro Fire Department want to remind the public about proper boat and firework safety.
“The department gets a lot of calls for fireworks," said Commander Kevin Warych with the Green Bay Police Department.
He stated that the fireworks should be left to the professionals.
“The fireworks, though they may seem innocent, and they may seem like, 'Oh, that seems like a good idea' -- it really scares a lot of people in the community and it really causes a lot of disruption in the neighborhoods,” Warych continued. “In very simple terms, any firework that leaves the ground is illegal.”
According to officials, fireworks cause more than 19,000 fires and send over 9,000 people to the emergency room each year in the United States. In 2023, the Green Bay Police Department responded to 99 calls of service on or around the 4th of July, and the Green Bay Metro Fire Department responded to 15 fires.
Illegal fireworks can lead to fines of up to $1,000 per violation in Wisconsin. Illegal fireworks without a valid permit include firecrackers, Roman candles, bottle rockets and mortars.
Legal fireworks do not leave the ground of explore. Examples include:
- Sparklers NOT exceeding 36 inches in length
- Stationary cones and fountains
- Toy snakes
- Smoke bombs
- Caps
- Noisemakers
- Confetti poppers with less than 1/4 grain of explosive mixture
- Novelty devices that spin or move on the ground
Officials stress that even legal fireworks can be dangerous and result in serious burns, hearing loss and other injuries.
Safer alternatives, officials say, are attending local fireworks shows and events and choosing glow sticks and silly string for your celebrations.
Lieutenant Shauna Walesh with Green Bay Metro Fire says it’s also important to keep an eye on pets.
“Pets usually don’t like fireworks, so try to keep them in a safe secured room if you can and have them properly ID’d as well in case they happen to get out," Walesh told FOX 11.
Important fireworks safety tips are as follows:
- Never allow young children to handle fireworks
- Keep a bucket of water or a working garden hose nearby to fully extinguish fireworks that don’t go off or in case of a fire
- Do not attempt to relight or handle malfunctioned or “dud” fireworks.
- Store fireworks away from combustibles. Soak both used and unused fireworks in water for a few hours before discarding them.
- Keep pets indoors and ensure that they have ID tags.
GBPD Lieutenant Jordan Atlas also spoke about boating safety ahead of the holiday celebrations.
“Members of the Green Bay Police Department, when we have contact with the public, we want them to be educated," Atlas explained. "If we can educate people before they go out on the water that’s even better. We don’t want to have to stop and have somebody’s day go awry because they don’t have the proper safety equipment.”
The Green Bay Police Department says it’s crucial that boaters have a Personal Floatation Device for every passenger they plan on having aboard.
“You need your PFDs, we need PFDs for the passengers, we need PFDs that are going to fit the people that are going to be needing them," Atlas suggested. "Just having safety device that you haven’t checked, you haven’t looked at, that don’t fit or they’re old and out of repair, they’re not going to do anything.”
With the raised water levels because of recent rain, it’s also important to watch for items floating or semi-submerged in the water, and for those boating to go slow and stay observant for any debris.
The Wisconsin DNR says that there will be more officers patrolling the water nationwide due to the Operation Dry Water campaign.
The department also tells FOX 11 that their police boats are like “squad cars on the water” and are designed to optimize the way they help people stay safe on the bay.